Quick Review (LP): Teen Dream by Beach House

Thriller. Born In The USA. Rumours. There is a short list of albums that are amazing both as cohesive artistic statements and as collections of pop classics. Who would have thought that, in 1991, three knuckleheads from the Pacific Northwest with only one sloppily recorded sludge-rock effort to their credit would rise into that category with a gleaming collection of 12 odes to teen angst? Well, I was just as surprised to find Beach House ascending into that hall of greatness with their third album, Teen Dream. All of these songs would stand as great singles in and of themselves, but strewn together as a collection they make for one of the greatest rock records in recent memory. While the standards for these songs have been set with these recordings, I can’t help but wonder what tracks like “Walk in the Park” and “Zebra” would sound like stadium-sized. I’m not asking Beach House to go all U2 on us or anything, but then again, if Radiohead and Springsteen can pull of rock and roll glory in super-sized settings, then based on the strength of the songs on this album, Beach House can too. Teen Dream is probably the first great record of this decade.

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SGB is a music review blog. I keep it short and to the point. I mostly cover rock, usually of the indie, classic, or punk variety. All readers are encouraged to respond to my reviews with approval, dissent, etc. You think I missed something about a record? Speak ya mind!

Initial Reactions (2012) Ratings System

A: Impressive. Among the year's best.B: Decent. May be a grower.C: Blah. Another brick in the wall.D: Offends, grates, and/or bores.F: Monumentally bad. Imagine if Justin Beiber fronted Creed.